False Vaccine Contraindications in Pediatric Practice: A Nationwide Survey and European Comparison

Purpose False vaccine contraindications among healthcare providers contribute to preventable under-immunization. Although there are European data on the practices of false known vaccine contraindications that may contribute to increasing vaccine hesitancy and refusal in recent years, there is no comprehensive study in this area in Türkiye and similar countries. Methods A survey study with the participation of the members of the European Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases was taken as an example and an attempt was made to determine the practical practices of pediatricians regarding vaccine contraindications and precautions with more expanded themes of vaccine practices. The study was conducted as a survey study with the members of the National Pediatric Workshop called Pediatric Atelier. Results A total of 126 pediatricians completed the survey, yielding 1,638 responses across 13 clinical scenarios. In scenarios where there were no real precautions or contraindications to vaccination, 96.4% (1060/1100) of pediatricians made the correct decision to vaccinate. In the chemotherapy scenario requiring postpone, only 44.4% (56/126) pediatricians appropriately postponed live attenuated vaccine. 93.6% (118/126) of pediatricians correctly contraindicated vaccines in anaphylaxis scenario. For the other total scenarios, 33.3% (59/177) of pediatricians’ responses demonstrated false contraindication tendencies. Conclusion False contraindication patterns in Türkiye mirror Europe but reveal country-specific gaps, particularly in critical conditions such as chemotherapy scenario and false anaphylaxis indications. These findings highlight the need for targeted education on vaccine contraindications in pediatric training programs.